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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager selected an completely different lineup, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.